Andy Murray has doubted the value of psychologists in the past but the 25-year-old Scot revealed here last night that he has been consulting one for most of this year. Ivan Lendl, Murray's coach, suggested that the world No 3 could benefit from seeing Alexis Castorri, a psychologist based in Fort Lauderdale who helped him during his own career.

"When I first spoke to Ivan in December, he asked if I used a sports psychologist," Murray said after easing into the quarter-finals of the Shanghai Masters with a 6-2, 6-2 victory over Alexandr Dolgopolov. "I said no. He asked if I was open to it. I said that I was always open to try things, try new people.

"Most times when I'd spoken to sports psychologists before, I ended up talking about the tennis court, what goes on there, ways to deal with the time in between points, all of that stuff. There's been a bit of that, but I've spoken a lot more about things off the court, which is completely different."

He added: "[It's been about] learning how to deal with people a little bit better. Obviously, I've known a lot of the guys I've worked with for a very long time. We are also friends, so it can sometimes be hard to open up if there's something you're not necessarily happy with, something you want to change. That's probably what's helped most."

Murray believes the sessions with Castorri have helped him on the court as well and played a significant part in his victory at the US Open last month, when he became the first British man to win a Grand Slam singles title for 76 years.

"When my mind isn't free of everything, when things might be frustrating me away from the court, I can't focus as well as I need to," Murray said. "When my mind's clear, I can go on the court and play, not worry about anything else. I can play much better and think a lot better on the court.

"When I was young, my tactical knowledge, knowing how to win matches, was always one of my best attributes. Sometimes if I wasn't thinking about the match, I was wasting one of my biggest assets. I've been able to use that more. The US Open was a good example of that. I didn't play my best throughout the tournament, but I played smart tennis. Even when it was really tough, I found ways to win when I wasn't playing well."

Murray, who was playing his first match here after a first-round bye and a second-round walkover, said it had been tricky to adjust to the cooler conditions and lighter balls after playing in Tokyo last week. He pointed out that both of the Japan Open finalists had gone out early this week, while those players who competed last week in Beijing, where the conditions are similar to Shanghai, had fared much better.

However, Murray was still much too good for Dolgopolov, the world No 20. The 23-year-old Ukrainian was on the back foot from the start, dropping serve in the third game. Murray's only frustration came when Dolgopolov broke back early in the second set, upon which the Scot smashed his racket in frustration, for which he received a code violation. Murray, who picked up a bug on the way to Tokyo, has not been feeling 100 per cent for the last fortnight and wanted to get off court as quickly as possible.

Order was quickly restored, however, as Murray won the last four games to complete victory in just 57 minutes. His opponent today is the Czech veteran Radek Stepanek, who will be appearing in his first Masters Series quarter-final for three years.

You beat me to it dani as had just read it in my paper and was about to post - very interesting indeed. I'm really pleased as I always felt it would help though what is interesting is that it doesn't sound as if he used him to help him deal with crunch moments like GS finals. Perhaps Lendl worked with him on that.

It was a very interesting read,wasn't it.I know,it really sounds like it was another of those times when he worked on little things,and they came together to make big differences-seems to me that's sort of been a recurring theme of what he's been doing with Lendl.Here's to it keeping on working!

It is very interesting that Andy's using a sports psychologist now - it's something that definitely seems to have helped him in the big matches this year. Here's another article on this from the BBC with a video interview:

Andy Murray has doubted the value of psychologists in the past but the 25-year-old Scot revealed here last night that he has been consulting one for most of this year. Ivan Lendl, Murray's coach, suggested that the world No 3 could benefit from seeing Alexis Castorri, a psychologist based in Fort Lauderdale who helped him during his own career.

"When I first spoke to Ivan in December, he asked if I used a sports psychologist," Murray said after easing into the quarter-finals of the Shanghai Masters with a 6-2, 6-2 victory over Alexandr Dolgopolov. "I said no. He asked if I was open to it. I said that I was always open to try things, try new people.

"Most times when I'd spoken to sports psychologists before, I ended up talking about the tennis court, what goes on there, ways to deal with the time in between points, all of that stuff. There's been a bit of that, but I've spoken a lot more about things off the court, which is completely different."

He added: "[It's been about] learning how to deal with people a little bit better. Obviously, I've known a lot of the guys I've worked with for a very long time. We are also friends, so it can sometimes be hard to open up if there's something you're not necessarily happy with, something you want to change. That's probably what's helped most."

Murray believes the sessions with Castorri have helped him on the court as well and played a significant part in his victory at the US Open last month, when he became the first British man to win a Grand Slam singles title for 76 years.

"When my mind isn't free of everything, when things might be frustrating me away from the court, I can't focus as well as I need to," Murray said. "When my mind's clear, I can go on the court and play, not worry about anything else. I can play much better and think a lot better on the court.

"When I was young, my tactical knowledge, knowing how to win matches, was always one of my best attributes. Sometimes if I wasn't thinking about the match, I was wasting one of my biggest assets. I've been able to use that more. The US Open was a good example of that. I didn't play my best throughout the tournament, but I played smart tennis. Even when it was really tough, I found ways to win when I wasn't playing well."

Murray, who was playing his first match here after a first-round bye and a second-round walkover, said it had been tricky to adjust to the cooler conditions and lighter balls after playing in Tokyo last week. He pointed out that both of the Japan Open finalists had gone out early this week, while those players who competed last week in Beijing, where the conditions are similar to Shanghai, had fared much better.

However, Murray was still much too good for Dolgopolov, the world No 20. The 23-year-old Ukrainian was on the back foot from the start, dropping serve in the third game. Murray's only frustration came when Dolgopolov broke back early in the second set, upon which the Scot smashed his racket in frustration, for which he received a code violation. Murray, who picked up a bug on the way to Tokyo, has not been feeling 100 per cent for the last fortnight and wanted to get off court as quickly as possible.

Order was quickly restored, however, as Murray won the last four games to complete victory in just 57 minutes. His opponent today is the Czech veteran Radek Stepanek, who will be appearing in his first Masters Series quarter-final for three years.

I was just about to post the equivalent article on the BBC website. Very interesting reading, especially the fact that Castorri didn't focus so much on what was going on on-court but more particularly matters off it.

I think it's interesting that Andy has used a sports psychologist. It was interesting to see Andy say that it was one of the things Lendl asked him about when they first started talking about working together. I wonder if Lendl was trying to assess how open Andy might be to doing something like that, or what he was prepared to do to get over the line.

I think it's great that Andy was prepared to try it, and if he feels that it has been helpful, both on court and off, it has to be worth it. To my mind it is yet another indication of how much he has matured this year.

Interesting article-and I loved the bit where he said he wanted to win the match for Kim

Murray struggles past Stepanek to set up Federer reunion

The rivalry with Roger Federer which helped to propel Andy Murray into his greatest summer will resume here today when they face each other for the first time since their gold-medal match at the Olympic Games. The Swiss and the Scot meet in the semi-finals of the Shanghai Masters, where Murray has yet to lose a match, having won the tournament in his two previous appearances.

Murray, who reached the semi- finals by beating Radek Stepanek 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 yesterday, has won nine of his 17 matches against Federer, but it was his battling defeat to the world No 1 in this year's Wimbledon final that proved to be the launchpad for the Scot's triumphs at both the Olympics and US Open.

Federer, who beat Marin Cilic 6-3, 6-4 in his quarter-final, often brings the best out of Murray, who relishes the challenge of taking on the greatest player in the sport's history. Murray won both their previous meetings here at the Qi Zhong Tennis Centre.

"To win the match you need to play great tennis," Murray said as he looked forward to meeting Federer for the fourth time this year. "It's a challenge playing against him because he has a lot of variety in his game. He can win points from a lot of different parts of the court.

"Each time you play against him, there's things that happen a lot differently compared with the previous time, so you need to make sure that you're on your toes and you're ready to make some adjustments during the match. You need to think while you're out there against him."

Federer believes the key to Murray's breakthrough has been his more aggressive approach and not staying so far back for his returns, particularly on second serves.

"He kind of always gave you the first hit [in the past]," Federer said. "By virtue of returning further in, it takes time away. He's got great hands, great anticipation, great reaction. I guess it's the right way to play. It's paid off. Now he's obviously in his absolute prime. Hit fitness, his mind, his game is all coming together now."

Novak Djokovic, a 6-3, 6-3 winner over Tommy Haas, and Tomas Berdych, who beat Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-3, 7-6, meet in the other semi-final, meaning that the top four seeds are all through to the final stages.

In truth Murray was well below his best for most of his quarter-final. The world No 3 has not been in the best of health since picking up a bronchial infection on his way to Asia a fortnight ago and often looked short on energy.

Stepanek, who at 33 remains one of the fittest players on the tour, struck the ball well in the first set, in which he dropped only five points on his serve and made the only break in the fifth game. It took Murray an hour to get to deuce in any of the Czech's service games, but from 2-2 in the second set he won four games in a row to level the match.

After an early exchange of breaks in the decider, Murray finally came good. Having played cautiously until that point, the US Open champion belatedly started going for his shots and secured victory by winning 20 of the last 25 points.

"I got my kick of energy at the end of the match and played really well for 15 minutes, but I didn't play particularly well up until that point and I was pretty sluggish at the beginning in terms of my movement," Murray said.

At the end of the match Murray wrote a "happy birthday" message to his girlfriend, Kim Sears, on the television camera lens. "I didn't tell her I was going to write that," he said. "I hadn't really thought about it until I finished the match." Had he wanted to win the match for her? "I guess so, yeah," Murray smiled.

Guys,just read this article,where Andy says this about the bug he's been battling:

“I just picked the bug up on the flight,” Murray said. “I had a sore throat and swollen glands. Then it kind of went down to my chest and I haven’t been able to get rid of it.”

Also had this to say about his birthday message:

“I didn’t tell her I was going to write that,” said Murray, who will meet Roger Federer in the semi-finals today. “I hadn’t really thought about it until I finished the match. It’s my guess she was surprised.”

The psychologist who Andy Murray put on winning path to US Open success

Part of Andy Murray’s path to his maiden grand slam title in New York involved “bringing back the zest” into his life and his tennis, according to the woman who has helped him achieve his long-held dream.

Alexis Castorri, a 59-year-old therapist from Fort Lauderdale in Florida, has emerged as an unexpected heroine of Murray’s glorious season. The Scot was introduced to her in February by his new coach and mentor Ivan Lendl, and they have already struck up a better rapport than Murray has managed with any of the other psychologists he has tried.

Speaking in Shanghai this week, Murray said that his sessions with Castorri had been less narrowly focused on tennis than the work he had done before, and more about “learning how to deal with people a bit better”.

Castorri has a number of clients on the tennis circuit but also works with golfers and business executives. “I’m interested in helping a person become the best they can be,” she said on Friday. “That means talking about their lives in total. Tennis is part of it but not the whole of the conversation.”

In Murray's case, Castorri saw a man frustrated by his inability to live up to his own high standards, at least at the final stages of grand slams.

“When I looked at early films of him playing, he played with such happiness and excitement, so my initial thought was that he needed to bring back the zest. But I believe you start that off the court.

“Andy is a creative genius, a tactical and technical genius, so he needed to reconnect with his inner strengths.

"It’s natural that when someone puts their heart and soul into what they’re doing, they sometimes forget how much enjoyment they once took from it. Andy has lofty goals and he is hard on himself. In that situation, you need to remember that you love the battle, that’s why you are out there.”

Murray was once described as “one of the most negative people I’ve ever met” by his former coach Brad Gilbert. When the two men were working together in the mid-2000s, Gilbert suggested that Murray was depressed and that he should see a psychologist – though the one he eventually visited could not find anything wrong.

Since then, Murray has dramatically improved his demeanour on the court and, for the most part, stopped shooting dirty looks and sarcastic comments at his players’ box. It is hard to see him ever beaming his way through life like Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, but his practice sessions with Lendl are quirky and fun, and the strength of their relationship can be judged by the way he invariably smiles when he is asked about his new coach.

“I have never found Andy gloomy,” said Castorri, who speaks to Murray every two or three weeks and meets him whenever he visits his American base in Miami.

“I love working with him: he’s a delightful, sensitive, happy, funny, sensitive young man. And he was completely open with me from the first conversation.”

Castorri has known Lendl since 1985, when she approached him after a defeat to Stefan Edberg to promise that she could to turn him into a world No 1.

Her solution was unorthodox, involving aerobics, “Jazzercise” and yoga, but seven months later Lendl beat John McEnroe in the US Open final in what he still considers to be his greatest performance, and moved to No 1 for the first time.

“My instinct with Ivan the minute he came into the room was that he was a very stiff person – he even walked in a stiff way,” says Castorri now. “So we worked to loosen up the body a little bit and add some flexibility. He is very much a one-off, and that’s what I find when I work with high-profile people: they are unique personalities.

“In Andy’s case, I have heard that he hasn’t always been fully supported by the whole of the UK but he is tenacious and he sticks to his mission. After the way he spoke when he lost the Wimbledon final this year, perhaps more people have warmed to him, because he was revealing a side of himself that they hadn’t seen before.

“It’s a simple lesson but if you can learn to be yourself – the most positive form of yourself – then good things tend to happen.”

^ I have huge respect for Andy opening himself up to this. I'm sure it's not something he was very comfortable with, but it shows how much he wants it that he has had the courage to go down a route that he may not have felt entirely comfortable with. It's a far cry from the Andy who threw a Psychology book in the bin in the early days. Well done you for having a mind open enough to accept and take this on board.